Guiding Starlight [นิยายภาษาอังกฤษ]

ลำดับตอนที่ #1 : Husband, Angel, and Attempt to Suicide

“Once upon a time, long before the coming of Christ in a faraway land, there was a woman who just got married to her most beloved man. It was the happiest time for both of them. They were caring for each other; their love was sweet. However, they could live together for only a short while, before something unexpected occurred.

                There was a war coming from the foreign enemy. In order to protect the nation’s pride from the invasion, many young men were enlisted by the military to fight and fortify the borders. Among the new soldiers was the woman’s husband.

                She was deeply worried that her husband had to go to the battle, but simultaneously she was proud and she understands his duty to protect their homeland.

                The woman wanted to give her husband a love token to keep with himself when they had to be far from each other, so that he would think of her. Few weeks before he was due to go to war, she made a soft quilted shirt for him to put on under his armor. Because the shirt was lined and padded with wool, using soft covering cloth on both sides, it could prevent the irritation caused by the metal armor rubbing onto his skin. Most importantly, she embroidered an angel on the outer cloth using the appliqué technique, symbolizing her wish that her husband would be protected. Since the inner cloth which directly touched his skin was fine cotton, the quilted shirt felt very gentle to his body. It was a shirt that wonderfully represented the wife’s love and care.

                Then, it was the day he had to leave her to the battlefield. That was the beginning of a long separation between them. The woman waited until the war ended, but even though many months passed by, there was no sign of his return to the homeland. Still hopeful, she decided to wait longer. Many men who had gone to the war with him came back home to their lover one after another, and many did die in the war.

                After a whole year of waiting, she grew desperate. Her plump healthy body turned thin. Without her beloved, perhaps she could no longer live.

                That night, the thought of suicide popped into her contemplating mind. Yes, all the sadness and sorrow already put the light out off her path to live further, blocking it completely.

                The woman rummaged around for some cloth which was left from when she made her husband the quilted shirt. She picked up a long strip of cloth which looked like it might work from the box. ‘This is the one I’ll use to kill myself.’ Her tired hands trembled while wrapping it around her neck. Just then, she remembered that this piece of cloth was the same one she used for that appliquéd angel on her husband’s undershirt.

                She cried while hugging the cloth tight to her chest, praying: ‘If angels do exist, please make my dear husband come back home.’ Missing him, her tears flowed down her cheeks again, releasing all the misery in her heart.

                Instantly, something unexpected happened: someone was knocking at the door. It was a loud repeated banging. Shocked, she quickly wiped her tears away and hurried to the door as fast as she could in her weak state. Who could it be at this wretched time?

                Once the door was opened, she was stunned because the one standing in front of her is her most beloved husband.

                He told her he was wounded, so all this time he had to heal himself in a distant place. The only thing which had empowered his spirit to survive is the quilted shirt that she gave him as a love token.

                From then on, the needlework tradition of quilting has spread far and wide. People believe that the craft made from the heart would be blessed with an angel inside. Nevertheless, it is just a myth.”

                That was the ending of Teacher Kleddao’s lecture. She was famous for teaching quilting courses, and she had recently won the first prize in the national bag quilting contest. The myth of quilting she had just narrated made the audience in the television studio very touched. The craft had been adapted and produced into various products nowadays. No one can deny that the most outstanding of all is the bag quilting, which is popular in Thailand and worldwide.

                “Now, that is the handicraft we call quilting. Very interesting, isn’t it? I, Manisa Chaotroo, the hostess of Wide World in Five Minutes Show, will see you again next week. As we are coming to the end of the show, we would like to recommend you the quilting products which are now in trend and let them have a place in your heart. Most of all, the government also fully supports the handicraft. Made by Thais, used by Thais, for the prosperity of Thais. Good night.”

                The television is turned off as it is time for bed for the students in the boarding school.